教宗良十四世10月13日入院接受肺部结节切除手术，为其教宗任内首次重大健康事件
梵蒂冈城——罗马天主教教宗良十四世（Pope Leo XIV）将于10月13日（周二）入住罗马杰梅利综合医院（Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic），接受肺部结节切除手术。据美联社与路透社报道，现年71岁的良十四世10月11日（周日）在圣彼得广场主持正午祝福结束时，亲自向广场上的数千名信众宣布了这一消息，成为其17个月教宗任内首次重大健康事件。
良十四世说，医生发现了一个“边界清晰、在很早期就被检出、且位置明确”的肺部结节，医生认为应进行干预，他已决定听从医生建议接受切除手术。他说：“我感谢你们，并把自己托付给你们的祈祷。”梵蒂冈发言人马泰奥·布鲁尼（Matteo Bruni）随后表示，手术安排在本周头几天进行，教宗术后预计住院约一周，出院后还需约一周康复。梵蒂冈没有公布结节是良性还是恶性，也没有公布具体影像结果。
医学上，肺结节是直径小于3厘米的异常组织区域，常在因其他原因进行的胸部扫描中被偶然发现，成因包括既往感染或瘢痕组织，多数并非癌症；由于针刺活检有时难以实施，手术切除常被用于明确性质。据美联社报道，肿瘤科医生表示，若结节最终证实为癌性，由于发现与切除都在早期，教宗的预后将“非常好”。
良十四世原名罗伯特·弗朗西斯·普雷沃斯特（Robert Francis Prevost），出生于芝加哥，是历史上第一位美国出生的教宗，2025年5月在教宗方济各去世后当选。他平日生活活跃，有定期打网球、在冈道尔夫堡夏宫游泳的习惯，此前没有公开已知的重大健康问题。与梵蒂冈数百年来对教宗健康高度保密的传统相比，良十四世选择在公开场合亲自宣布病情，被多位观察者形容为罕见的透明做法。
住院期间，梵蒂冈的日常行政工作将继续进行，但需要教宗本人授权或签署的决定可能推迟；按教会惯例，教宗在接受治疗期间保留其权力，不发生自动移交。菲律宾枢机路易斯·安东尼奥·塔格莱（Luis Antonio Tagle）将于周三代替良十四世在圣彼得广场主持一场弥撒。意大利总理梅洛尼已向教宗表达个人与意大利政府的亲近与支持。梵蒂冈方面表示，这次手术预计不会影响教宗下月前往乌拉圭、阿根廷与秘鲁的行程，那次为期11天的访问定于11月6日至17日进行。杰梅利医院自1981年若望保禄二世遇刺后送医以来长期为历任教宗提供治疗，若望保禄二世曾称其为“梵蒂冈三世”；方济各晚年也曾多次入住该院，他于2025年4月去世，享年88岁。
来源：据美联社、路透社10月12日报道及梵蒂冈新闻办公室声明。
Pope Leo XIV to Be Admitted Tuesday for Lung Nodule Surgery, First Major Health Event of His Pontificate
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV will be admitted to Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic on Tuesday, October 13, for surgery to remove a nodule on his lung, the Vatican said, in what the Associated Press described as the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. The 71-year-old pontiff revealed the news himself on Sunday, October 11, at the end of his noon blessing, before thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
Leo said doctors had discovered a "well-defined lung nodule, detected at a very early stage and clearly localised," that the doctors considered it appropriate to intervene, and that he had decided to follow their advice and undergo surgery to have it removed. "I thank you and entrust myself to your prayers," he said. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the procedure was scheduled for the first days of the week, with the pope expected to remain in hospital for about a week after the operation and to need roughly a further week of recovery. The Vatican has not disclosed whether the nodule is benign or cancerous, nor released detailed imaging results.
A lung nodule is a small abnormal area of tissue, generally less than 3 centimeters (about 1 inch), often found incidentally on scans done for other reasons. Nodules can arise from previous infections or scar tissue, and most are not cancerous; surgical removal is often recommended to establish whether a nodule is malignant when a needle biopsy is difficult. Oncologists cited by the AP said that if the nodule turns out to be cancerous, Leo's prognosis would be "excellent" because it will have been removed at an early stage.
Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, is the first American-born pope. He was elected in May 2025 following the death of Pope Francis. He is known to be physically active, with weekly tennis games and swimming at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, and had no publicly known significant health problems before this announcement. His decision to disclose the surgery himself, in public, marked an unusual level of transparency for the Vatican, which has for centuries closely guarded information about a pope's health.
The Vatican said regular administrative activities will continue during his hospital stay, though decisions requiring the pope's personal authorization or signature may be deferred; under Church procedures the pope retains his authority while undergoing treatment, and there is no automatic transfer of power. Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will preside over a Mass scheduled for Wednesday in St. Peter's Square in Leo's place. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her personal closeness and that of the Italian government to the pope. The surgery is not expected to affect his planned November 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. Gemelli Hospital has treated popes since the 1981 assassination attempt on John Paul II, who called it "Vatican III"; Francis, who died in April 2025 at age 88, was admitted there repeatedly in his final years.
Source: Associated Press and Reuters, October 12; Holy See Press Office statements.
图片来源：教宗良十四世，Edgar Beltrán（The Pillar）摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
